Directora

“The devastating thing about Elaine is that she’s better at everything - writing, directing, acting - than anyone else I know.” That quote comes from director Clive Donner regarding the one and only Elaine May. Elaine May is the woman behind so many pivotal comedic moments you know and love. From the Second City and Nichols & May, to A New Leaf and Mikey and Nicky, to directing the massive flop that was Ishtar and coming back with the script for The Birdcage, Elaine May has always been relentlessly talented. She still is! She also has a reputation for being a difficult director. The dreaded D word. Is she difficult? Is that a fair assessment? We talk all about it! Listen to hear about her inspiring life, her many creative endeavors, triumphs, and everything in between. This episode originally aired on Grab Bag Collab earlier in 2026. Directora was created by Stephanie Weber, who researches, writes, records, edits, and hosts every episode. Artwork by Brock Alter.Check out film clips and stills from these movies on our Instagram and TikTok. Follow along! Email questions, concerns, press opps to directorapodcast@gmail.com. Rate and review as kindly as possible!Sources:Coleman, Janet. The Compass Players: The Improvisational Theater that Revolutionized American Comedy. University of Chicago Press. November 1, 1991.Couregan, Carrie. Miss May Does Not Exist: The Life and Work of Elaine May, Hollywood's Hidden Genius. St. Martin's Press. 2024. Griggs, Jeff. Guru: My Days with Del Close. Ivan R. Dee. April 25, 2005. "Ishtar". What Went Wrong. Bassett, Lizzie and Winterbauer, Chris. February 1, 2021. May, Elaine. Power Plays. Samuel French.May, Elaine. Not Enough Rope: A Play in One Act. Samuel French. May, Elaine. Mikey & Nicky. Criterion Collection DVD Special Features. McGrath, Douglas. Becoming Mike Nichols. 2016. Mikey & Nicky Restoration Documentary. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4bZVWLwQvbwNichols and May: Take Two. American Masters. PBS. May 1996.Elaine May at Mike Nichols AFI Achievement Awards. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AgjBxiDmJyUElaine May and Mike Nichols in Conversation. 2006. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ShLPGHoXJFY

“Come up and listen sometime.” Mae West was an icon of old Hollywood. She has been impersonated by The Looney Tunes and Drag Queens alike. She was a woman who was so ahead of her time that her comedy holds up to this day. She was an actress, writer, and producer who wrote her own material - and sometimes that material was SO controversial that she wound up having to go to court over it. We are talking about the one and only Mae West as we get into her enduring legacy, her impressive career, and her court case over sex. That was the title of her script, not like a court case over whether or not she could have. Because I’m pretty sure she did…a lot. Listen to her wild adventures in and out of show business. This episode originally aired on Grab Bag Collab earlier in 2026. Directora was created by Stephanie Weber, who researches, writes, records, edits, and hosts every episode. Artwork by Brock Alter. Check out film clips and stills from these movies on our Instagram and TikTok. Follow along! Email questions, concerns, press opps to directorapodcast@gmail.com. Rate and review as kindly as possible! Sources: American Masters: Mae West: Dirty Blonde. PBS. Season 34. June 16, 2020. Chandler, Charlotte. She Always Knew How: A Personal Biography of Mae West. Applause Publishers. March 1, 2010. Mae West and the Men Who Knew Her. Directed by Gene Feldman and Suzette Winter. PBS Documentary 1994. Wombat Productions. Longworth, Karina. "Fact Checking Hollywood Babylon: Mae West". You Must Remember This. December 3, 2018. West, Mae. Edited by Schlissel, Lillian. Three Plays By Mae West. Taylor and Francis, LTD. 1997.

If you're a quirky internet/Tumblr girl, the chances are super high that you've seen images of the 1966 Czech film Daisies. The images are vibrant, striking, and adorable; but the story behind the film and the reactions to it in director Věra Chytilová's home country go so much deeper than you can imagine and the film put her on a career blacklist for years. Find out why the Czech communist regime took issue with her films and attempted to ruin her career. This episode originally aired on Grab Bag Collab's Patreon. Thank you to Amanda Rossman for sound mixing and to Brock Alter for the artwork. Directora is hosted, created, researched, and written by Stephanie Weber. Follow Directora on Instagram and TikTok. Please email directorapodcast@gmail.com for any questions, suggestions, or compliments. I love those!Sources for this episode:Brockel, Cal. “Věra Chytilová: the Czech New Wave director banned by her government”. Hero Magazine. May 8, 2021. https://hero-magazine.com/article/189560/vera-chytilova“BFI At Home: Filmmakers in Focus: Věra Chytilová”. BFI YouTube Channel. April 8, 2021. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dwbA6aNiG7AČulík, Jan. “A Courageous Voice from Central Europe: The Films of Věra Chytilová”. Eastern European Film Bulletin. Volume 88. October 2018. https://eefb.org/retrospectives/The-Films-of-Vera-Chytilova“Daises: City Cinematheque.” CUNY TV YouTube Channel. Recorded January 1, 1997. Aired February 1, 1997. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G0tU4ioovoAGray, Carmen. “Vera Chytilová for beginners”. British Film Institute. February 27, 2015. https://www.bfi.org.uk/features/vera-chytilova-beginnersSarno, Elena Pachner. “Feminism, Destruction, and Joy in Daises”. East European Film Bulletin. Volume 88. October 2018. https://eefb.org/retrospectives/feminism-destruction-and-joy-in-daisies/

Leni Riefenstahl was one of the most important directors of the 20th century. She pioneered several filmmaking techniques and forever influenced how sports and action are filmed on camera. But she was also a Nazi. Or was she? After the war, Riefenstahl spent the rest of her very long life defending her work and denying any involvement with the Nazi Party...sometimes in the face of very real evidence to refute her claims. So what's the truth? Listen to this episode to hear the full story.Warning: this episode talks about the Holocaust, bigotry, and stigmatization of mental illness. This episode was re-recorded for this release. The original version aired on Grab Bag Collab in May 2025. Stephanie Weber researched, wrote, recorded, and edited the episode. Brock Alter did all of the artwork. Follow us on social media to see clips and stills from the films discussed in this episode. SOURCES:Connolly, Kate. Gypsies’ Fate Haunts Film Muse of Hitler. August 18, 2002. https://www.theguardian.com/world/2002/aug/18/artsandhumanities.germanyConnolly, Kate. “Film suggests Nazis’ lead propagandist had role in 1939 massacre.” The Guardian. August 28, 2024. https://www.theguardian.com/film/article/2024/aug/28/film-suggests-nazis-propagandist-leni-riefenstahl-had-role-in-1939-massacre“Just What Did Leni Riefenstahl’s Lens See?” New York Times. March 13, 1994. Accessed via https://writing.upenn.edu/~afilreis/Holocaust/maslin.html on May 1, 2025.Indiana, Gary. “Leni Riefenstahl.” Art Forum. https://www.artforum.com/columns/leni-riefenstahl-168029/Muller, Ray. The Wonderful Horrible Life of Leni Riefenstahl. (1993)Prose, Francine. “Leni Riefenstahl: On a Nazi Filmmaker”. The Yale Review. October 1, 2018. https://yalereview.org/article/leni-riefenstahlRiefenstahl, Leni. “The Blue Light”. (1932). Riefenstahl, Leni. “Olympia Part One: The Festival of Nationals” (1938).Riefenstahl, Leni. “Olympia Part Two: Festival of Beauty” (1938). Veiel, Andres. Riefenstahl. (2024)Zajc, Melita. A cruel game by Hitler’s Favourite Filmmaker Exposed. Modern Times Review. February 20, 2022. https://www.moderntimes.review/a-cruel-game-by-hitlers-favourite-filmmaker-exposed/

"She's so f***ing mean," Quentin Tarantino once said of film critic Pauline Kael. Kael was known for brutally harsh film reviews that could make or break a movie. People want to dismiss critics for "not knowing anything", but Kael knew a lot - and her knowledge was valuable to the industry. Her ability to spot up-and-coming talent in the 60s and 70s helped New American Cinema flourish. Find out about her life as we read her wildest reviews. Who could ever say something mean about The Sound of Music? Pauline Kael!This episode originally aired with Grab Bag Collab on their Patreon. Stephanie Weber is the host, creator, researcher, and writer of Directora. Amanda Rossman mixed this episode. Brock Alter made the artwork. Follow Directora on Instagram and TikTok. E-mail questions, suggestions, and anything else to directorapodcast@gmail.comSources for this episode:Barsanti, Chris. “When Film Mattered: Pauline Kael’s Age of Movies.” October 27, 2011. https://themillions.com/2011/10/when-film-mattered-pauline-kaels-the-age-of-movies.htmlBrody, Richard. “What Pauline Kael Failed to See About Young Film Lovers”. April 8, 2025. https://www.newyorker.com/culture/the-front-row/what-pauline-kael-failed-to-see-about-young-film-loversCwik, Greg. “The Critic as Artful Gadfly”. Pop Matters. November 14, 2012. https://www.popmatters.com/165416-the-critic-as-artful-gadfly-pauline-kael-2495797841.htmlGarver, Rob. What She Said: The Art of Pauline Kael. (2018).Hellerman, Jason. “The Controversy Behind ‘Citizen Kane’, ‘Mank’, and Pauline Kael”. December 2, 2020. https://nofilmschool.com/citizen-kane-pauline-kaelJones, Emma. “It Was Really Wrong: How Last Tango in Paris’ Infamous Explicit Scene Undid Its Female Star.” BBC News. April 3, 2025.  https://www.bbc.com/culture/article/20250402-maria-schneider-how-last-tango-in-pariss-infamous-explicit-scene-undid-its-female-starKael, Pauline. “Circles and Squares.” JSTOR.org https://www.jstor.org/stable/1210726Kael, Pauline. “Bonnie and Clyde.” The New Yorker. October 13, 1967. https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/1967/10/21/bonnie-and-clydeLinfield, Susie. “The Perils of Pauline” LA Times. Sept. 29, 2002. https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2002-sep-29-bk-linfield29-story.htmlPotton, Ed. “She’s So Mean - The Critic Everyone Loved to Hate”. The Times. March 17, 2023. https://www.thetimes.com/culture/film/article/tarantino-described-her-film-reviews-as-the-greatest-shit-ever-she-s-just-being-so-f-ing-mean-nnkt6056rRussell, Calum. “Pauline Kael Reviews Quentin Tarantino’s Pulp Fiction” Far Out Magazine. March 16 2013. https://faroutmagazine.co.uk/pauline-kael-reviews-quentin-tarantinos-pulp-fiction/

When I was planning episodes, a friend suggested that I talk about lavender marriages. Lavender marriages were essentially fake Hollywood marriages set up by studios, agents, or the actors themselves to hide a star’s sexuality or clean up their image. I know that lavender marriages and queerness in early Hollywood are really salacious and fun to talk about, but I couldn’t immediately figure out how to casually bring up the subject. And then I remembered Alla Nazimova and, folks, we've got ourselves a great episode on a queer producer, director, and actress who was said to be one of the best actresses of her day. Let’s talk about Alla Nazimova and her groundbreaking silent film with an allegedly all-gay cast, Salome. Happy Pride!“Alla Nazimova - AFI Catalogue Spotlight”. June 1, 2023. https://www.afi.com/news/alla-nazimova-afi-catalog-spotlight/“Alla Nazimova”. IMDB. Accessed on May 16, 2024. https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0623417/Anger, Kenneth. Hollywood Babylon. Dell Publishing, 1975.Longworth, Karina. “Rudolph Valentino (Fake News: Fact-Checking Hollywood Babylon). January 29, 2019. https://www.youmustrememberthispodcast.com/episodes/2019/1/29/hollywoodbabylonPacheco, Diego Pineda. “Critically Acclaimed Films that Roger Ebert Disliked”. Collider. April 25, 2024. https://collider.com/roger-ebert-worst-acclaimed-movies/Reise. “The 10 Most Sexually Prolific Lesbians and Bisexuals in Old Hollywood.” Astro Straddle. July 7, 2016. https://www.autostraddle.com/10-old-hollywood-stars-who-enjoyed-scissoring-343227/Shokin, Samantha. The Founding Mother of Sapphic Hollywood. Tablet Mag. June 1, 2022. https://www.tabletmag.com/sections/arts-letters/articles/alla-nazimova-sapphic-hollywoodTurnbull, Martin. “Salome”. JSTOR. https://www.loc.gov/static/programs/national-film-preservation-board/documents/salome.pdfhttps://www.theguardian.com/books/2024/mar/02/mercedes-de-acosta-the-poet-who-had-affairs-with-the-20th-centurys-most-famous-women

Season one of Directora is all about foundations. We've talked about the first female director ever, and we talked about Hollywood's first successful female director. Today, we ask the question: who was the first Black female filmmaker? Well, this is actually a difficult question to answer. There is no one answer. There are a couple of early contenders, but the answer also depends on what you’re asking. In this episode, we'll talk about several Black female pioneers in film, from Madame Welcome to Tressie Souders to Eloyce King Patrick Gist to Zora Neale Hurston to Jessie Maple, and more! This episode originally aired with Grab Bag Collab. Thank you to Amanda Rossman, Daisy Eagan, and Amber Hunt. Thank you to Brock Alter for sound help and podcast artwork. Follow us on Instagram and TikTok to see clips and stills from the topics talked about in this episode. Sources used for this episode: Abbot, Robert. S. “Among the Movies,” Chicago Defender, 20 November 1915, p. 5. Baker, Christina N. Black Women Directors. Rutgers University Press, 2022. Bobo, Jaqueline. Black Women Film & Video Artists. AFI Film Readers. Routledge, 1998. The Billboard, NY Digital Library, 31 Dec. 1921, p. 43. www.fultonhistory.com/newspaperBlack Film Archive - 1920s. https://blackfilmarchive.com/1920-s“I Invest in Myself and I Make My Films: Jessie Maple on Breaking Boundaries in Filmmaking”. NU Block Museum. February 6, 2020. https://nublockmuseum.blog/2020/02/06/i-invest-in-myself-and-i-make-my-films-jessie-maple-on-breaking-boundaries-and-filmmaking-audio/Jackson, Ashwanta. “Black Camerawoman Jessie Maple’s Fight to Join a Union”. JSTOR Daily. May 13, 2021. https://daily.jstor.org/black-camerawoman-jessie-maples-fight-to-join-a-union/Knuppel, Jennie. “The First Black Woman to Write and Produce and Act in Her Own Film”. Saturday Evening Post. February 29, 2024. https://www.saturdayeveningpost.com/2024/02/the-first-black-woman-to-write-produce-and-act-in-her-own-film/Morgan, Kyna; Aimee Dixon. "African-American Women in the Silent Film Industry." In Jane Gaines, Radha Vatsal, and Monica Dall’Asta, eds. Women Film Pioneers Project. New York, NY: Columbia University Libraries, 2013.  https://doi.org/10.7916/d8-vt0f-1758Stratton, L.E. “How White Women’s Patronage of Black Artists Exposed Racial Fault Lines.” Lit Hub. June 13, 2024. https://lithub.com/how-white-womens-patronage-of-black-artists-exposed-racial-fault-lines/

They say sex sells, but can sex also sell feminist ideas? That's what director Stephanie Rothman did in the 60s and 70s. European movies and groovy new ideas inspired the bold director to make low-budget movies with big impacts. She began working for the great B-movie director Roger Corman, who trusted her to direct her first independent films. She directed The Student Nurses, launching a wave of "sexy nurse" movies in the 70s. However, it was so much more than a sexploitation film playing at drive-in movies to teen boys. The film followed its young female protagonists through a variety of dramas that touched on issues that were affecting real women in the outside world. From pregnancy to addiction to revolution, The Student Nurses was about a lot more than sex. Don't get me wrong - there IS sex in the movie, but there's more than that.Rothman cleverly "snuck" feminist ideas into raunchy movies. She also infused her sexy vampire film, The Velvet Vampire, with plenty of dreamy visuals that inspired later horror films such as The Love Witch. Her films touched on politics, sex, and love, and even included a sex-work film starring a young Cassandra Peterson (that's Elvira!). She did all of this while working within the exploitation genre, simply because it was the only avenue that she was offered. As a result, she fought against notions that her films were silly genre movies or filth. Rothman is still disregarded in feminist film studies for that reason. Let's change that! It's time to recognize Rothman's work as valuable for feminist filmmaking and female directors as a whole. Thank you for listening! This episode was originally published with Grab Bag Collab. Special thanks to them! Thanks to Brock Alter for the podcast art and tech help. Directora is researched, written, edited, and hosted by Stephanie Weber.